Coordinator of the GCE A Level support program in Dominica Henry Volney is making a case for the reviewing of the laws pertaining to the naming of the island scholarship.
Presently, according to the law of Dominica, only those enrolled in the A Level program is eligible to be named the island scholar and Volney has described this as “an error that needs to be addressed.”
The A Level program covers Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and General Paper as demanded by Cambridge and according to Volney this “eliminates the possibility of good students in the social sciences and arts becoming candidates for the island scholarship.”
He is of the opinion that the top achiever at the Dominica State College should be named the island scholar.
“I personally believe the top achiever at the DSC should get the island scholarship,” he stated on Wednesday.” I can advise the minister that it is in the best interest of all that the law be changed.”
Classes for the A Level program are held for two hours, once a week for 12 weeks, over a period of two semesters and over two years.
“So it’s a two year program and what we try to do is bridge the gap between the colleges Associate degree and the A level. It is quite a rigorous job to be done by the students but if you want to succeed in life you have work hard,” Volney pointed out.
All efforts by DNO in contacting the Education Minister Petter St. Jean or Permanent Secretary Melena Fonatine on the matter were unsuccessful.
hmmmm good observation
UWI still wants to maintain the monopoly on degrees in the Caribbean and rather than making the programs student friendly thy are busy trying to keep the DSC down. i hope they are saw what happened to cables and wireless with DIGICEL
It really is unfair that only the NatSci students get a shot at the island scholarship.
Mr. St Jean is just waiting for someone to write him something then he will response, impromptu not their thing
The DSC President must express his views on this important issue now!!
How can an educated man like Mr. Volney speak such garbage. Dominica is part of an international community so our students must be able to compete internationally. That Associate Degree needs to be assessed… it does not challenge students sufficiently. We should be offering more subjects and also offering CAPE. I did A levels in the 1980s when we has less resources and I could did Art subjects. We have so many more trained persons now and only offer sciences. What about geography, History, Literature, Accounting, Economics….important foundation subjects. You people are just shortchanging our students by offering them mediocre programmes and sending them to mediocre colleges where you will not send your own children..
Garbage? that is a strong word when you did not understand what he said.
Did you read what he said, you are saying the same thing “Disgusted”, he is saying to expand it to the social sciences and arts and that is what you are repeating, and I agree with him, what is wrong with expanding to other subject areas?
explain your self “Disgusted”, read the article again
The fact that students need extra tuition to do the A’level although they are doing an associate degree suggest that excelling in the former is at a higher level. I believe it should be changed to include Cape that is now done mainly by Social Science and Arts students
I personally believe that we need to enforce international standards to name anyone the island scholar each year. Yes, international standards!
The A level results meet international standards and so Denzel can go anywhere in the commonwealth and command respect due to his A level results. We can check what other Caricom islands do but it is so good that for the past several decades, the A level exams, the highest level of organized and objective post-secondary school examinations are the criteria used to name someone an island scholar.
Alternatively, maybe the name of the current scholarship could be changed from island scholar to the Cambridge Prize in the Sciences, similar to the Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize so that those who excel at these tough A level exams can be distinguished, especially when they do them privately and do not have the support of the school system.
The State college could then create the Volney Prize in the Social Sciences and Arts. There would be no more anxiety and worry over who is named the island scholar.
Petter SAINT-Jean. PS is Marcella Powell. Fontaine is Chief Education officer.
As a student of mathematics, I should be the first one to disagree with Mr. Henry Volney; but as an educator, I must agree with his premise that each child must be granted the opportunity to compete for the best.
Maybe Obama could not solve a Calculus problem or be able to explain electron shells in chemistry. But his skills developed in the Social Sciences has helped placed him at the pinnacle of world power.
Not from that College!! The programme there is a waste of time! You can not even enter UWI with that piece of paper they calling Associates degree.
Anyone who can afford should send their children overseas (preferably England or any country where the British curriculum is taught) to an A level or Bac. college.
very foolish comment, you don’t realise that U.W.I is in direct competition with the D.S.C hence the reason, they squeeze gullible Dominicans so that others won’t go to D.S.C….
Ask yourself, why won’t U.W.I accept it, but Ivy League Universities in U.K does…. again educate yourself…
U.W.I isn’t all that you think it is, the D.S.C just needs more degrees to blow them off my friend… go to a U.W.I graduation function… the speeches a particular person gives, is always a maypwee towards D.S.C.. But Dr. Peters don’t have to drop to that kwass level… the D.S.C doesn’t even know if U.W.I exists…
in the meantime, transcripts are flying off the registrars desk in Stockfarm… N.Y, Toronto, U.S.V.I, Jamaica and Canada here we come…
Point well taken but there are no IVY League universities in the U.K. They are all American.
halibut which UK universities?
up till this minute DSC not fully accredited. not even some credits u can transfer…thank god i did my associate degree program before migrating ,needless to say ihad to start from scratch again.two years wasted.a levels u can get by with, city and guilds and uwi certificate. in the US only a few uni will accept DSC associates degree …..so before u criticise do ur research before chatting nonsense
Too many chiefs and too few Workers,
Great point here. I totally agree with Mr. Volney that the criteria needs to be revisited.